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Less than 7% of the Environmental Protection Agency's personnel will be left on board during the government shutdown, making the EPA one of the biggest casualties of the federal work stoppage, according to the agency. Operations of the Office of Air and Radiation will be halted, and the EPA will not issue environmental permits for industrial construction and expansion during the shutdown. The shutdown also will delay the comment period on the proposed emissions standards for new power plants.

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Ethanol supporters in Congress were able to voice their criticism of the recently proposed Environmental Protection Agency ethanol blending targets during a hearing with EPA acting Assistant Administrator Janet McCabe on Thursday. "I hope when EPA puts out final rule this November, it will toss out this flawed reasoning and return to management of program to the way Congress originally intended," said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said the proposal "flies in the face of the law."

A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee will hear arguments against the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed air and water rules at a hearing Thursday. Lawmakers will hear from senior staff of NERA Economic Consulting and two attorneys general now suing the EPA over its rules. During this congressional session, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., is expected to reintroduce a provision that would require the EPA to use NERA's cost-benefit methodology for its rules.

Adding more wind power to the country's infrastructure will help states comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan while maintaining reliability, the American Wind Energy Association said in a report Thursday. "Based on grid operators' experience with reliably and cost-effectively integrating very large amounts of wind energy, wind can play a key role in meeting EPA's Clean Power Plan," said AWEA Senior Director of Research Michael Goggin.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy stood behind the agency's proposals to tweak the Clean Water Act and the Renewable Fuel Standard during a meeting with agricultural journalists. However, she indicated the final RFS rule would not be the same as the proposed rule. "Gasoline demand had an impact in the proposal, and it will also be reflected in the final rule," she said.

The Environmental Protection Agency has released its updated renewable-fuel standard and confirmed that ethanol emits 21% less in greenhouse gases than gasoline
when global indirect land-use change is included. "EPA was right to recognize that ethanol from all sources provides significant carbon benefits compared to gasoline," said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. "As structured, the RFS is a workable program that will achieve the stated policy goals of reduced oil dependence, economic opportunity and environmental stewardship."